This lineage includes kings of Castile, Leon, Provence, Navarre and Aragon.
King of England John "Lackland" Plantagenet
Best known for being forced to sign the Magna Charta.
Youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane. Early in his life, he was the only son who had not been given land by his father and he was called John "Lackland." Henry provided for the eventual inheritance of his lands by his older sons before John was born. In 1186, however,only Richard I, the Lion-Heart, and John were left as Henry's heirs. In 1189, as Henry neared death, John joined Richard's rebellion against their father, and when Richard was crowned, he gave John many estates and titles. John tried but failed to usurp the crown while Richard was away on the Third Crusade. Upon returning to England, Richard forgave him. When his brother died in 1199, John became king. A revolt ensued by the supporters of Arthur of Bretagne, the son of John's brother Geoffrey. Arthur was defeated and captured in 1202, and John is believed to have had him murdered. King Phillip II of France continued Arthur's war until John had to surrender nearly all his French possessions in 1204. In 1207, John refused to accept the election of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Innocent III then excommunicated John and began negotiating with Phillip for an invasion of England. Desperate, John surrendered England to the pope and in 1213 received it back as a fief. Trying to regain his French possession, he was decisively defeated by Philip in 1214.
John's reign had become increasingly tyrannical; to support his wars he had exhorted money, raised taxes, and confsicated properties. His barons finally united to force him to respect their rights and privileges. John had little choice but to sign the Magna Charta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in 1215, making him subject to, rather than superior to, the law. Shortly thereafter, John and the barons were at war. He died at Newark in Nottinghamshire October 19, 1216 while still pursuing the campaign, and was succeeded by his son Henry III.
John had at least seven bastards, probably more.Best known for being forced to sign the Magna Charta.
Youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane. Early in his life, he was the only son who had not been given land by his father and he was called John "Lackland." Henry provided for the eventual inheritance of his lands by his older sons before John was born. In 1186, however,only Richard I, the Lion-Heart, and John were left as Henry's heirs. In 1189, as Henry neared death, John joined Richard's rebellion against their father, and when Richard was crowned, he gave John many estates and titles. John tried but failed to usurp the crown while Richard was away on the Third Crusade. Upon returning to England, Richard forgave him. When his brother died in 1199, John became king. A revolt ensued by the supporters of Arthur of Bretagne, the son of John's brother Geoffrey. Arthur was defeated and captured in 1202, and John is believed to have had him murdered. King Phillip II of France continued Arthur's war until John had to surrender nearly all his French possessions in 1204. In 1207, John refused to accept the election of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Innocent III then excommunicated John and began negotiating with Phillip for an invasion of England. Desperate, John surrendered England to the pope and in 1213 received it back as a fief. Trying to regain his French possession, he was decisively defeated by Philip in 1214.
John's reign had become increasingly tyrannical; to support his wars he had exhorted money, raised taxes, and confsicated properties. His barons finally united to force him to respect their rights and privileges. John had little choice but to sign the Magna Charta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in 1215, making him subject to, rather than superior to, the law. Shortly thereafter, John and the barons were at war. He died at Newark in Nottinghamshire October 19, 1216 while still pursuing the campaign, and was succeeded by his son Henry III.
John had at least seven bastards, probably more.
King of England Henry II Plantagenet
Henry Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, succeeded to the throne as Henry II in 1154. Henry and Eleanor of Aquitane and Normandy were crowned together at Westminster Abbey on 7 December 1154.
Henry II and his sons Richard and John expanded royal authority. Henry banished mercenaries and destroyed private castles. He strengthened the government created by Henry I. Most important, he developed the common law, administered by royal courts and applicable to all England. It encroached on the feudal courts' jurisdiction over land and created the grand jury. It success demonstrated its efficiency and the growing power of the king.
Henry attempted to reduce the jurisdiction of church courts, especially over clergy accused of crimes, but was opposed by Thomas a' Beckett, his former chancellor, whom he had made archbishop of Canterbury. His anger at Becket's intransigence led ultimately to Becket's martyrdom (murder?) in 1170.
Henry's empire included more than half of France and lordship over Ireland and Scotland. His skill at governing, however, did not include the ability of placate his sons who rebelled against him several times, backed by the kings of France and their mother, Eleanor of Aquitane.
Henry Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, succeeded to the throne as Henry II in 1154. Henry and Eleanor of Aquitane and Normandy were crowned together at Westminster Abbey on 7 December 1154.
Eleanor of Aquitane, queen consort of France (1137-52) and queen consort of England (1154-1204), born in France. She inherited the duchy of Aquitane from her father in 1137, the same year in which she was married to Louis VII of France. She accompanied her husband on the Second Crusade to the Holy Land, where it was rumored she committed adultery. The scandal, and the fact that she had not given the king a male heir, resulted in an annulment of their marriage in 1152 under the pretext of blood kinship between her and the king. Later that year, Eleanor maried and gave her possessions to Henry Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, who in 1154 became Henry II, king of England. In 1170, the queen induced her husband to invest their son Richard the Lion Hearted with her personal dominions of Gascdony, Aquitane, and Poitou. When Richard and his brothers rebelled against their father in 1173, Eleanor, already alienated from the king because of his unfaithfulness, supported her sons. Consequently, she was placed in confinement until 1185. After her release, she secured the succession of her son Richard, who had become heir apparent at the death in 1183 of his eldest brother. From the death of King Henry II in 1189 until Richard's return from the Third Crusade in 1194, Eleanor ruled as regent. During this time, she foiled to attempt of her son John in 1193 to conspire with France against the new king. After the return of Richard, she arranged a reconciliation between the two brothers. Eleanor continued to be prominent in public affairs until she retired to the abbey in Fontevrault, France, where she died on April 1, 1204.
Kathryn Hepburn won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Queen Eleanor in the movie "Lion in the Winter", with Peter O'Toole playing King Henry II of England.
King of England Henry I Beauclerc
King of England 1100 to 1135.
Throughout his career, Henry showed a capacity for swift and violent action. He caused two of his granddaughters to be blinded in retaliation for their father's treatment of hostages and, in 1124-25, he had all the moneyers in England mutilated without trial, to discourage their successors from falsifying the coinage. He seems to have been naturally both cruel and avaricious. All the same, this heavy hand checked lawlessness in all parts of his kingdom, and he had the knack of winning admiration and even trust.
Henry reigned for the most part in peace. In 1106, however, he defeated his older brother Robert of Normandy in an unexpectedly decisive battle at Tinchebrai, seized his Duchy and imprisoned him for the rest of Robert's life.
One of Henry's first acts as King was to marry a descendant of King Alfred the Great, a match with obvious dynastic overtones.
King of England William the Conqueror
The first Norman king of England. He was the son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and inherited Normandy at the age of eight. During his youth, there were many disorders. At the age of 20, he put down a great rebvellion at the battle of Val-es-dunes, which he won with the aid of his lord, King Henry of France. From that time on, William ruled Normandy with an iron hand.
In 1051, William visited England. King Edward the Confessor granted him the succession to the English throne as his nearest adult heir. In 1064, Harold, Edward's brother-in-law was shipwrecked on the Nor,man coast and taken prisoner. He promised to support William's claim to the throne in return for his freedom. But when Edward died in 1066, Horold obtained the succession on the basis of a deathbed grant by Edward and election by the nobles and prelates of England.
William immediately invaded England. His expedition had the pope's blessings, because William was expected to depose the Anglo-Saxon archbishop of Canterbury and introduce ecclesiastical reforms. Before William could sail, the king of Norway invaded northern England. Kind Harold hurried north and defeated the Norwegian invaders at Stamford Bridge. William landed before Harold could return to defend the coast. The Normans destroyed the Anglo-Saxon army and killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings.
On Christmas Day, 1066, William was crowned king. William then suppressed local rebellions. He took land from those who resisted him, and gave them to his followers to hold in return for their military service to him. To emphasize the legitimacy of his crown, William confirmed the laws of Edward the Confessor and retained all the powers of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy. He levied "Danegeld," the only national tax on olanded property in all of Europe at that time. At Salisbury, in 1086, he made all the landholders, even the vassals of his barons, swear allegiance to him as king.
William was devout, firm in purpose, and unchanging in gaining his ends. His greatest monument is "Domesday Book," and exhaustive survey of the land, the principal landholders, the farm population, and the material and financial resources of his realm.
With a strong will he ruled for 21 years, and it was at the siege of Mantes in the autumn of 1087 that William met his death. While destroying the city, he rode about encouraging his men, when a burning brand fell before his horse. The horse shied at it, or stumbled, pitching William forward upon the high pommel of his saddle, causing a mortal injury. In great pain he dictated hs will to the notaries, providing for the disposition of his land and his wealth. When after suffering for about three weeks, death came to him 9 September 1087, no member of his family was present, each having selfishly hurried away to look after his own legacy. As soon as he was dead, the servants rushed upon the furnishings and money, carrying off everything, even the linen from the bed and the king's clothing, tossing his naked body out upon the floor. "On the floor he was born, to the floor he now returned, William the Conqueror."
Daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, granddaughter of Robert II "The Pious," King of France, and a descendant of other French kings and Charlemagne.